Anguish (2015) Reviews

• Almost as exciting as watching grass grow.

  lnvicta2015-12-19

  I like slowburning horror movies. I like when the tension is constantly built up until you can't take it anymore. When subtle fears are highlighted instead of jump scares. That sort of thing I like. But there's a difference between a movie being slow paced and a movie being no-paced. Anguish is the latter. It's exhaustingly boring. It's basically a possession story about someone else's spirit trapped inside a girl's body and the movie revolves around her and her mother coping with it. And I appreciate what it's trying to do, focusing on the psychological angle as opposed to straight up scares. The problem is it misses the mark completely. There are chunks of this movie where absolutely nothing happens. Tess sitting down and looking at something, next scene, Tess walking around aimlessly, next scene, Tess sitting somewhere else, etc. It tries to build tension when there's no tension to be built. You're just waiting for something to happen - anything - and it never does. It even has the generic "inspired by true events" and perfunctory statistics before the movie starts, trying to excuse itself from the horridity, but it doesn't work. The music is frustrating, too. Going back and forth from bland indie acoustic songs to excruciating violins and of course the LOUD noises for when you're supposed to be scared. It's just annoying and frankly insulting to the audience. The only redeemable part of Anguish is the acting. It's surprisingly good, especially when the actors have to recite dialogue this terrible, so good on them. But in every other conceivable way, Anguish is an empty shell of a movie. The only thing it ensures is the anguish knowing you could have spent an hour and a half doing something better with your life.

• Dramatic Supernatural Story of Possession

  claudio_carvalho2018-08-07

  "Anguish" is a low-budget film labeled as horror genre but it is indeed a dramatic supernatural story of possession. After the unexpected death of the teenager Lucy hit by a car on the road, the newcomer in town Tess, who suffers from mental disorder, is possessed by Lucy´s strong spirit that is reluctant to move on. The performances are good, but the pace is too slow and disappoints the fans of horror. My vote is four. Title (Brazil): Not Available

• Certainly not as bad as made out to be

  dryadcrow2017-03-08

  I have just finished watching this film on Sky Movies. I checked IMDb as I was actually watching the start titles and saw how poorly it was received, but I watched anyway to make up my own mind. Conclusion...... this is NOT a horror film. This is a slow burning supernatural drama. There is a certain sadness to it. And I really enjoyed it :-) Yes, it does have some minor flaws but they can be ignored quite easily. Give it a try and make up your own mind.....you may surprise yourself and enjoy it like I did.

• Not a horror movie but a good drama none the less

  km_staple2018-07-08

  The acting was excellent especially the young lead actress. I would not categorize it as a horror movie. A good solid drama. If you are looking for an action packed movie, this is not it. I would still recommend it.

• Much More Than A Run Of The Mill Possession Film

  HorrorOverEverything2016-01-04

  I'll start off by saying that this is a relatively slow paced film, there are lots of long scenes without dialogue and the usual things that happen in modern horror films are mostly set aside. There are a few scare scenes, but this is definitely not an in your face type of horror film. If you do not enjoy slow paced films then you will not like this. With that said, I really enjoyed this, it was such a great surprise. I really had no idea what to expect when I turned it on but the beginning instantly hooked me. From there the film does a great job of creating a very realistic atmosphere, it makes the theme of the movie almost seem plausible because it presents it so well. The story is told in a very soothing and almost calm way, which makes the horror elements really jump out when they are introduced. The acting was well done, the small cast all does a good & believable job. Everyone does kind of speak in the same mono toned fashion but when you consider how unhappy really everyone in the film is it makes sense for them to all be speaking that way. Overall I thought this was great. It takes the cliché possession theme and does something new & interesting with it. It's not going to be for everybody, but if you go into it expecting a slow paced heavy atmosphere type film then you will most likely be pleased. 7/10